A Tale of Two Brothers
Hey Peeps, I don't own anything related to Sonic or his universe, that's SEGA and all other companies relevant to the creation of his various back-stories, and even though most of them have tanked it now that is beside the point. Honestly, I actually own very little in this fic (next to nothing apart from some background alterations) but this is my story and even though I am using characters from Archie, DiC and SEGA I will be fleshing many of them out because they were only 2-dimensional so in some ways they will appear very OC hopefully you'll bear with me! Anyway, I've bored you to tears with this disclaimer so enjoy and let me know what you think! X
Review Replies:
Slayer 666: Haha, it's funny that you should ask about Naugus…. And Robotnik will be here soon enough, he's not relevant right now. I have to be a little further into the story before he can come in. Your opinions regarding Kodos are interesting but I can't imagine Jules as a killer, I think he would see it as beneath him. Anyway, I hint a bit at Kodos' turn in this chapter. And thank you, but my first year was a couple of days ago on the 15th of March.. Now you're definitely thinking like an American, having a relative who have married into the royal family does not make you a prince. Look at the Middleton family as they are a perfect example. Pippa has no importance or title and still has to refer to her sister as 'her royal highness' and curtsey as is customary when in the presence of royalty as do Kate's parents! It is the one thing that always irritated me about Archie; they just make assumptions instead of doing actual research into what would happen. This is why I'm glad I live in a country that has a royal family because I can correct the mistakes and give my readers a realistic view on royalty which American writers lack.. X
Lady Mayflower: Thank you very much for your review, even if you were sleep deprived (which if I caused I am also sorry). Although I'm a little surprised you chose to review after only the first chapter I do hope you read a little more. And yes, I know about the bad grammar and in my defence I was using an older system back then with old software that wasn't giving me the assistance I really needed. I do admit that my grammar isn't always the best even in the later chapters you will probably spot with ease. Thanks again X
Chapter Twenty-Two: The Actions Of A Desperate Mobian..
It had been three days since the Princess of Mobius had left for Mobodoon under her father's orders and in the throne room of Hedgington Hall the emerald-green King of Mobius was sat alone, brooding on his gold and red-velvet throne. His maroon eyes were lost deep within his own thoughts that he didn't even notice when the huge heavy-set mahogany double-doors of the throne room were pushed open and a four-foot one mobian-skunk dressed in a smart black suit entered. Behind him was the towering and well-muscled form of a seven-foot tall mobian-lion with brown-fur and a long, blonde-mane. The two highest ranking officers of the Mobian Army stopped before the throne.
'Sire…' The coarse tones of Warlord Kodos' gruff voice spoke calmly causing King Ogilvie the Third to look around to his massive warlord and sigh heavily, finally acknowledging the pair in his presence. 'The Overlanders have been sighted in the badlands between Green Hill and the Great Desert..'
'Well, it was only a matter of time before they arrived on our soil.' The green-quilled King of Mobius said in a soft musing tone to his most loyal solider. 'Do we have any idea of their strategies?' His maroon eyes gave nothing about how the king was feeling inside, they merely looked plainly to Ian St John for an answer.
'No..' The mobian-skunk replied with a composed drawl. 'Unfortunately due to the badlands harsh terrain we cannot get close to them without being detected. It would be suicide to send agents out on reconnaissance in such a desolate wasteland. This is probably the reason they have chosen to make base there.' Ian St John concluded grimly.
'We have had success convincing the Southern Confederacy Regiment to fight alongside us, providing that we aid them should the Overlanders chose to attack them first..' Warlord Kodos said with a slight smirk of disdain on his lips.
'Of course we would aid our southern brothers if that was the case but I am quite sure that they are more interested in attacking us than them at this precise moment.' King Ogilvie stated plainly with a slight flick of his wrist.
'That's exactly what I said to them sire but they were still adamant that we should assure their safety before they aided us.' The tall blonde-maned lion stated plainly.
'And did you assure their safety?' King Ogilvie the Third kinked a neat brow at his Minister of Mobian Defence, Ian St John too seemed to look interested in this answer as well.
'I simply told them that if they fought alongside us them we would fight alongside them as true brothers in arms do. This is about uniting against a threat that could consume us all..' The blonde mobian-lion puffed out his chest with pride, making his war medals glisten in the light of the throne room.
'That was surprisingly eloquent of you Kodos..' Ian St John stated with slight surprise at these words, he had not expected such well-expressed words to come from the brutish warlord.
'Indeed. Bravo Kodos on convincing the South to join us in this battle.' The green-quilled King of Mobius clapped his hands at his warlord's brilliance. 'But do you think having them aid us will be enough?' His maroon eyes suddenly filled with unease at this point as he was concerned about the very future of his kingdom.
'I honestly don't know your highness..' Kodos replied seriously, clenching his massive fist tight shut as his eyes closed as if he was in silent prayer.
'Perhaps we are dealing with this situation in the wrong way your highness.' Ian St John mused to himself as his mauve eyes clouded with thought.
'What do you mean, Commander?' The green-quilled King of Mobius kinked his neat brow intrigued by the mobian-skunk's words. Warlord Kodos Lion had opened his eyes at St John's words and was twisting his heavy brow curiously at the commander of the King's secret service.
'I'm just thinking that perhaps we need to think outside the box when dealing with these Overlanders. We've been fighting them with weapons and tactics that they have seen before and it hasn't worked. What we need is to fight them with something that they can't fully comprehend so they have no way to themselves against it..'
'Oh really? And what magical solution would that be Commander?' Kodos sneered disrespectfully at the mobian-skunk. Ian St John folded his arms and smirked at the huge, well-muscled mobian-lion baring down on him.
'You just said it Kodos: Magic..' The black and white mobian-skunk sounded dryly, completed with an off-handed flick of the wrist.
'Magic?! Bah! That's you're answer?' Kodos snorted derisively at this suggestion, glaring at the skunk-mobian for even thinking of this in the first place.
'Don't be too quick to dismiss this, Kodos. You know as well as the rest of us do that our ancestors were deep believers in the power of Chaos..' King Ogilvie the Third stated plainly as his right hand slipped to the golden handle of his sword. This was the same sword that had been bestowed onto King Thomas the First of Mobius by the echidnae council of elders as an offering of peace. It was told that this sword held legendary power to the rightful King of Mobius but like most magical items it had become seen as a relic from olden days as a more science-minded Mobius began to search for factual answers.
'That's all very well sire but we must be realistic here.' Kodos drawled as his huge arms folded across his chest. 'The echidnae are refusing to aid us and have hidden the Chaos Emeralds away so the Overlanders cannot seize them. The only mage we know is Merlin Prower who is refusing to leave Mercia so he can shield Prince Robert's whereabouts for his own safety. There is no-one else..' Warlord Kodos gave a self-satisfied smirk, proud of himself for his sane rationalization.
'Well, that's not strictly true. There is always Merlin Prower's mentor, the exiled wizard.' Ian St John's words made Kodos deflate a little before he frowned deeply, his arms instantly dropping to his sides as his fists bawled with badly repressed fury.
'Naugus?' King Ogilvie sounded in surprise at this suggestion.
'Sire, this is ridiculous nonsense! Ixis Naugus was banished into exile from Mobius by your father for conspiring to take the throne, we cannot trust him!' The brown-furred mobian-lion snarled out his objection to contacting the wizard Naugus for any kind of assistance.
'I'm well aware of that, thank you Kodos.' The green-quilled King of Mobius replied, he'd only been a tiny hedgehoglet at the time but Professor Nate Morgan, who had been Minister of Science at the time, had told him the story when he was old enough to ask about it. 'However I am inclined to agree with St John, we have tried to fight these brutish Overlanders on their level but we lack the technical advancements that they have and the knowledge on how to truly take them out. Perhaps this is a new avenue that we could possibly explore.' King Ogilvie spoke gently, hoping to placate Warlord Kodos' seething temper as he knew his Minister of Mobian Defence would not like being overruled on this one.
'Well, I see I'm going to be outvoted on this one..' The huge mobian-lion gritted his teeth angrily and narrowed his eyes, supressing his rage and fury at the way this democratic kingdom was heading...
'You're taking this admirably well Kodos, I'm impressed.' King Ogilvie the Third said with a smile as the Minister of Mobian Defence began grumbling to himself in an inaudible voice while glaring at the ground.
'As am I sir. Perhaps the council members are starting to placate you're nature.' The mobian-skunk added with a smirk and narrowed mauve eyes. He could see that the Mobian Council Minister was seething inside but couldn't help sticking a jib in.
'Commander St John, I want you to take a team into the Forbidden Zone, track down Ixis Naugus and bring him before me..' The green-quilled hedgehog said seriously and immediately the black and white skunk-mobian bowed low before his ruler.
'I will assemble my best mobians and depart right away my liege..' Ian St John said with a smile before leaving the throne room.
'Sire, I cannot help but think that this is a bad idea..' King Ogilvie the Third turned to his Minister of Mobian Defence who was still looking displeased.
'I understand your concerns Kodos but we do not have the luxury of choice. We are desperate, we have to find a way to rid ourselves of the Overlanders now. Even if it means consorting with those we once considered enemies..' The green-quilled King of Mobius narrowed his eyes in a manner that suggested he felt unclean doing this but he was willing to do anything to save his mobians. He was glad he had sent his daughter away and she couldn't witness how low he was sinking now.. After a moment of brooding the King of Mobius snapped out of his stupor and readdressed his Warlord. 'Now if you don't mind Kodos I have an appointment with Doctor Barkenstien scheduled.. Keep me posted on the position of the Overlanders, won't you?' He added as he ushered the mobian-lion towards the double doors of his throne room with a smile.
'Of course, your majesty..' Kodos replied in a falsely bright voice before leaving the huge room and muttering darkly under his breath..
'You summoned me your majesty?' The brown-furred terrier-mobian with a bristly moustache and a set of thick black specticals stood before the King of Mobius. The middle-aged green-quilled royal hedgehog leant back in his throne with a wide grin towards the infamous archaeologist and historical scientist.
'Yes doctor, so good of you to respond to me so promptly. Tell me my good fellow, what do you know of the Hedgehog family that hail from a hidden hamlet known as Knothole?' King Ogilvie the Third asked the brown-furred terrier and Doctor Barkenstien blinked at this unusual question.
'Not much your highness. Charles and his younger brother Julius are the last two left. Their father Maurice died of tuberculosis two and a half years ago. Charles was a student of mine at the time and I know it was very hard on him.' The brown-furred terrier replied before quirking his slightly overgrown brows and daring to ask the question that was on his mind. 'May I ask why you ask such a question sire?'
'I'm curious to know where they come from, doctor.' The green-quilled King of Mobius said as his brows lifted with surprise as he learnt Jules' full first name. 'You wouldn't happen to know what Charles' middle name is, would you?' He followed up his strange first question with an equally odd query.
'I believe it is 'Thomas' sire..' Doctor Barkenstien frowned as he was still perplexed about why the king was so curious about the Hedgehog brothers.
'Curious… very curious indeed..' The King of Mobius got up and wandered away, muttering to himself as he stroked his clean-shaven brow. This could not be a mere coincidence…
'Forgive me your majesty, but I am failing to see why this would be of interest to you.' Doctor Barkenstien said in a gentle voice and instantly King Ogilvie turned back around, his long red cape swishing with his body as he did so.
'I do apologise my good fellow. I have had this niggling hunch in my mind and I was hoping that you, given your expertise in our history, might be able to uncover a few answers for me.' King Ogilvie the Third said smoothly as he wrapped an arm around the stout mobian-terrier. 'I will give you whatever means necessary to do so, of course.' He threw the archaeologist a winning smile.
'Well, I will do my best sire..' Doctor Barkenstien began to reply but was cut off.
'Good!' King Ogilvie replied brightly, clapping the scientist on the back. 'That's what I like to hear..'
Charles Hedgehog continued to painstakingly type in primary programing into his Holographic Computer System. He needed to have complete concentration, needing the binary codes typed in the precise order or the command would be misread and the whole project would turn into a disaster. It had taken him a little while to get back into the correct mind-set after speaking with Maximillion Acorn and making a note of his dinner plans in his diary knowing that he would have no choice but to attend. Charles had barely began punching in the command sequences when his holophone began ringing again. The mild-blue hedgehog turned around and glared at his own offending creation as it rung for several moments, unable to believe that even without his little sibling around he still couldn't get peace to do his work.
'Oh. Now who's on the line?' He grumbled moodily, all these interruptions were making him irritable. Charles finished off his now-cold coffee before slamming the mug down a little too hard and wheeling himself back over to the holophone. This time when he clicked the button he was greeted by his former History lecturer, a brown-furred terrier-mobian with thick glasses.
'Doctor Barkenstien. Whatta surprise to hear from you.' Charles irritation immediately evaporated at the sight of his old lecturer as they'd always been on good terms.
'Good day Charles. I have just returned from an important meeting with King Ogilvie and he has asked me to do some special research for him and I was wondering if you would like to assist me with it as I feel would be of interest you too.' The middle-aged mobian-terrier said brightly and this made one of Charles' light-blue bushy eyebrows kink curiously at his old lecturer.
'What kind of special research are we talking about, doctor?' The almost twenty-two year old hedgehog asked curiously with a light smile.
'The King of Mobius is curious about the origins of Knothole and when it was founded. It seems King Ogilvie wants to know if it could have been where Prince Theodore settled after he abandoned his throne.' Doctor Barkenstien said plainly and Charles blinked at the older mobian in shock. He vaguely remembered having a conversation with Jules about some ludicrous theory that his cobalt-blue sibling had about being related to the missing Prince of Mobius. The king apparently was of the same opinion.. Perhaps he should be a part of this investigation, after all Knothole was where he grew up and he still knew most of the small community. Even if he couldn't learn anything about himself it would still be good to discover something about Knothole's relatively unknown history.
'Well, I was going to concentrate on writing out a new computer program but I guess that can wait..' Charles grinned widely at his former lecturer. 'This does sound like a project I should be a part of.'
'Oh good…' Doctor Barkenstien responded brightly. 'Meet me at the Public Library in half an hour and we'll see what we can uncover there before setting out to Knothole.'
'Sound good.' Charles said with a wide smile before both scientists clicked the 'disconnect' button and the mild-blue hedgehog returned to his computer to save his progress and get ready to meet his old lecturer. The almost twenty-two year old hedgehog did not fully understand why Doctor Barkenstien would want to meet him at the Public Library because they had nothing on Knothole before his great-grandfather Charleston Hedgehog's time, still his curiosity was inflamed to see what they could uncover. Whatever they found out he would share with his little brother, whenever he did eventually hear from Jules…
At Green Woods Military Base the cobalt-blue eighteen year old hedgehog was quickly settling into his role as Sargent of squad unit delta otherwise known as the 'Knothole Dandies'. He was now spending every waking hour with the six mobian soldiers under his charge, from morning inspection until lights out. It was midday and the Knothole Dandies were in the middle of their daily Battle Assembly training and at this precise moment were sat in a line with their laser-rifles dismantled in front of them. Their task was to assemble the rifles and load them correctly as Sargent Hedgehog timed them while pacing back and forth along the line. The cobalt-blue hedgehog had given his 'boys' a demonstration by snapping together his own rifle in record time before having the unit copy him.
'Done.' Came Corporal Mongoose's voice as he was, predictably, the first to complete the task at hand. His nimble fingers were almost as quick as his sargent's but even he couldn't match the cobalt-blue hedgehog's speed. Jules immediately approached Mongoose's desk and took the weapon from his corporal, inspecting it to see if it was indeed put together correctly. When he was satisfied that it was he smiled at the dark-yellow-furred mongoose with slicked-back dark-brown head-fur.
'Good job.' The cobalt sargent replied before swiftly dismantling the weapon and slamming it back on the desk. 'Again.' He ordered sharply and pointing at the pieces before his white-gloved hands went behind his back and he walked back down the line, leaving Arthur Mongoose to put the weapon together once more as the rest of the unit continued working on theirs. Once this exercise was complete they moved outside to the firing range where they were joined by Lieutenant Rabbot and Colonel Somersby.
'Sweet tarnation Sargent Hedgehog, whatta ya mean you won't use a gun?!' The grey-furred bulldog-mobian snarled angrily at the cobalt-blue hedgehog who, despite being incredibly quick at assembling a laser-rifle, was refusing to actually operate one on the firing range. The colonel's loud words had caused the rest of the 'Knothole Dandies' pause in their shooting practise and look around curiously to their commanding officers who were too busy arguing to notice that the sound of gunshots had ceased.
'What's going on, Corporal?' The ruby-red-furred fox with a burgundy lick of head-fur asked the dark-yellow-furred mongoose as his stone-grey eyes peeked around him to the argument.
'Sarge is arguing with the colonel about using guns again, Foxy.' Corporal Mongoose sighed as his eyes narrowed with slight disdain.
'Again?' The ruby-red-furred fox replied with a kink of the brow before sighing heavily. 'What is it with Royal Guards and using guns..'
'They don't have guns in their standard kit..' A beige-furred squirrel-mobian chimed in from behind the fox-mobian and immediately both Corporal Mongoose and Private Fox turned to look at Private Chips. 'Most of the mobians that join the Royal Guard want to serve the king without the aid of guns.'
'Pffft… Bunch'a pansies.' Private Fox rolled his stone-grey eyes with a sneer marring his light-beige muzzle.
'You callin' our Sarge a pansy private?' Corporal Mongoose suddenly rounded on Red Fox causing the ruby-furred fox-mobian to smirk.
'Just callin' it like I see it Corporal.' Red sounded with a casual drawl, his grey eyes narrowing in jest. Arthur Mongoose made a growl in the back of his throat and slammed the red-furred fox into the nearest tree causing him to wince painfully.
'Just because our sargent doesn't approve of gun use does not mean that he is weak! Don't forget that he is an unarmed-combat expert and a skilled swordsmobian..' Arthur Mongoose's light-green eyes narrowed to the fox-mobian before turning to glance back at the cobalt-blue hedgehog still arguing with Colonel Somersby. 'Even without a gun, he is dangerous.' Corporal Mongoose hissed, shoving his face right in Red Fox's making the red-furred private squirm uncomfortably before pulling back and letting go then addressing the group as a whole. 'Alright boys, breaks over. Back to your shootin'..' The small group of soldiers grumbled but returned to their mark positions in front of their long-range targets and resumed fire.
'I don't need a gun to fight this war!' Jules snarled back as the moment he had arrived on the firing range the cobalt-blue hedgehog refused to lift his rifle, attracting the attention of an irate Colonel Somersby.
'Son, you'll fight this war with what the Mobian Army supplies you with and we issued you a standard laser-rifle..' Colonel Somersby sounded in a loud voice, his grey eyes fixing the argumentative sargent with a piercing glare. 'As your commanding officer Hedgehog, I order you to fire on that target!' His thick grey finger pointed sharply at the only target left unmanned which was by Arthur Mongoose. Jules glared at the colonel as the bulldog-mobian's jowls curled and revealed his gritted teeth.
'Jist do it li'l partnah..' The weary voice of Buchanan Rabbot sighed heavily and immediately the eighteen year old hedgehog blinked at his lieutenant and friend. The light-brown-furred rabbit threw Jules a narrowed set of fed-up moss-green eyes as his hands went to his military-uniformed hips. 'If yah don't then the colonel will put the whole unit into detain.. Yah only jist earnt theyah respect, yah really wanna loose it jist as fast?' Jules opened his mouth to voice his disapproval of gun use but Buchanan forestalled him. 'Look, no-one knows bettah than Ah how much yah don't like guns good buddy but jist do this for them will yah?' The cobalt-blue hedgehog sighed heavily and glanced back at the small squad unit who were carrying out their commands with no arguments, they didn't deserve to be punished just because of him.
'Your right Buck, this is about more than me now..' He said then took back his laser-rifle from Colonel Somersby and smirked slightly. 'And since this is just a firing-range I guess my argument is a little unnecessary right at this moment.' Jules then cocked his gun and swung the long firearm in his left arm around to the target at the other side of the open green, not bothering to move forward to the marked line. Without even checking to see if his shot was lined-up by using the sight along the barrel the eighteen year old sargent pressed the trigger with his white-gloved finger a few times, letting out a series of bright-green laser-shots. These small orbs of green light hurtled through the air and hit the target in a burst of light that blasted with noise and left small circular shot-marks in both the red and yellow rings in the centre.
All the soldiers of the Knothole Dandies immediately stopped firing and glanced as a group with wide eyes of surprise to their sargent who had managed to hit his target without being anywhere near the line. They weren't the only ones staring either Colonel Somersby was no longer scowling but staring at the target in shock, he had deflated somewhat too as he had no expected the hedgehog to actually be such a keen shot considering his position on guns.
'Heh, yah can't deny he's good..' Buchanan threw the mobian-bulldog a lazy buck-toothed grin. Colonel Somersby growled slightly in the back of his throat in annoyance, mostly due to the fact that the hedgehog's shooting, though careless, was right on target. He then rounded on Jules who was smiling lightly with his gun casually in the grip of his left hand.
'Son. That was by far the sloppiest shootin' I have ever seen!' The grey-furred bulldog-mobian snarled out as he jammed his stubby black-nose fight in Jules' face causing the hedgehog to lean away and his grin twisted unsurely. 'Now wipe that stupid grin off your face, get to your mark and do it right before I send you along with this whole dang-unit onto detain duties! You understand me Sargent?' His grey eyes glared right into Jules' hazel ones.
'Yes, sir..' The cobalt-blue hedgehog intoned flatly before moving away.
'Pick up the pace Sargent. Hup two, hup two, hup too..' The mobian-bulldog colonel clapped his hands in time with his chanting as he scowled at the hedgehog's slow pace. 'Keep an eye on him Rabbit. He's trouble..' Colonel Somersby said to the light-brown-furred rabbit who narrowed his eyes in distaste at the bulldog-mobian's mispronunciation of his surname as his commanding officer.
'Yeh, will do sir..' The rabbit-mobian drawled in an insincere manner with a mock salute as the colonel left. When the bulldog-mobian left the southern rabbit grumbled with a glare in the direction the colonel had disappeared in.
At the same moment the cobalt-blue hedgehog was stood at the mark at the firing-range and took his gun in both hands and began to line up his shot.
'Hey Sarge..' A voice made Jules pause as he gazed at the tarnished target through the sight of his laser-rifle. He then lowered his gun and turned to find Private Red Fox leaning around the back of Corporal Mongoose and grinning at him. 'Just ignore Somersby, he's rude to everybody. It's just his thing.' The ruby-furred fox with a lick of burgundy head-fur then winked. 'And by the way, that was some awesome shooting you just did.' At the sound of Red's voice Arthur Mongoose paused in his own shooting and glanced around with a kink of his dark-brown eyebrow to the private behind him.
'Thanks but it was no biggie. Back when I was a kit Tig's father Commander Stripes used to let us use his laser-rifle to shoot cans.' Jules replied casually with a light smile.
'Well, look who's sucking up to the Sarge now..' Arthur smirked knowingly at the private and Red Fox threw the corporal a sheepish grin back…
At Mobotroplis Public Library a petit yellow-furred lioness-mobian with a red mane platted into a pigtail and thick-rimmed purple glasses approached the table where Doctor Charles Hedgehog and Doctor Barkenstien were sitting. She placed the books on the table and smiled widely at Charles before turning her attention to the brown-furred terrier-mobian.
'Here's the pieces you wanted Doctor Barkenstien, do you need me to look up anything else?' The lioness in the white cardigan and blue dress clasped her hands together.
'That will be all, thank you Miss Leo.' The terrier scientist replied amiably.
'Well ok then, I'll be over by the kiosk if you change your mind.' The lioness said brightly then waved to the mild-blue hedgehog. 'Nice to see you Chuck.'
'You too Emma..' Charles added in a friendly tone to Lionel's girlfriend as she wandered back to the kiosk where mobians went to check books in and out of the library. His pale-blue eyes then turned to the collection of books and scrolls that Emma had brought to the table for them and frowned in a little confusion. There was the old census papers that Charles had looked over before when he'd attempted to find out his family history, an old map of the Green Hill Zone and an early volume of the Tales of Kirby.
'Well, isn't this an odd collection?' The mild-blue almost twenty-two year old hedgehog said conversationally as Doctor Barkenstien unfurled the Green Hill Zone map and placed markers on Mobotroplis and the unmarked location of Knothole which was a little way away from the massive cliff-edge that marked the edge of the zone.
'I know but since there are no actual records that date back to King Thomas' reign we must revert to more unorthodox forms of information to try and fill in the blanks.' Doctor Barkenstien explained lightly to the mild-blue hedgehog's question as he gestured to the Kirby volume on the table.
'If there was no record then how do we know that what we're assuming happened?' Charles kinked a light-blue bushy brow of intrigue at his old lecturer and the brown-furred terrier laughed good naturedly before straightening his thick black specticals.
'This is why you were always a good student Charles, you ask the tough questions. And though there are no public records that we can fall back on King Ogilvie did give me something that we can use as a reference.' Doctor Barkenstien added as he lifted an orange book inlaid with golden-gilded edges and ornate boarders. A purple page marker stuck out the bottom of the book like a thin tongue. On the cover on this book was the royal 'H' symbol in deep-red and Charles seemed to gaze at it dumbfounded.
'The royal 'H'?' The mild-blue hedgehog murmured in awe as his white-gloved finger traced the large hieroglyphic-like letter. His pale-blue eyes then snapped around to Doctor Barkenstien and threw him a look. 'What is this book?'
'This is a history book of the royal family. Because of the portraits in the palace and the few whispers of past reigns this book was put together to give a basic outline to past rulers. This is the only copy and it is so rare that the king keeps it in his private library to save it from becoming damaged. It won't be able to tell us much about King Thomas but it does feature a family portrait of the first royal family before the death of Prince Elias so we can see what Theodore looked like.'
'So do you really think it's possible that Prince Theodore is my ancestor?' Charles asked the history scientist and archaeological terrier curiously as the dog-mobian carefully turned the gilded pages of the royal Hedgehog family history book.
'Charles, I'm surprised at you. As a scientist you should know that anything is possible until proven otherwise.' Doctor Barkenstien replied as he glanced up from the book. 'Ah-hah! Right here, King Thomas and his lovely wife Queen Aviva with their three kitons.' He added as he found the page near the back of the book, he then slipped in the page marker and swivelled the book around so that Charles could see. 'Have a look. You can see where King Ogilvie is getting his theory now can't you?' He added with a bright smile as the first royal family were revealed to Charles. The moment his pale-blue eyes looked upon the family he immediately noted that King Thomas the First's quills were green, this was a surprise to him as he'd always imagined him to be blue. Queen Aviva was incredibly pretty with her inky eyes and light-blue fur. Her head-quills were cobalt-blue and she was dressed in white looking every bit the Mobigptian princess she had been before her marriage to King Thomas. Little Sophia was just a tiny green-quilled baby sat in her mother's lap but when Charles' eyes turned to the princes' his pale-blue eyes widened in surprise.
'I don't believe it!' The mild-blue hedgehog blinked in shock. Prince Elias was stood beside his little brother in front of their proud father. The older prince was light-blue like his mother's fur while the younger brother was cobalt-blue with a small curl of loose quills around his forehead like his green-quilled father. 'He looks similar to Jules..' He added while noting that Theodore had inky-blue eyes instead of hazel ones.
'He does indeed.' Doctor Barkenstien sounded in agreement before picking up the volume of Tales of Kirby book. 'And there is a line in a poem here, written by Ignatius Kirby on Prince Theodore which may also be of interest to you as well..' It was now that Charles got a good look at the volume of Tales of Kirby did he realise that it was a copy of the same book that his mother had left to Jules after losing her battle with NIDS.. Surely that was a coincidence.
'Ah, here we are: The Pusillanimous Prince.' Doctor Barkenstien said as he turned to the appropriate page. Charles could vaguely recall being told this poem by his mother before bed when he was small. It was a sad poem filled with Theodore's mourning for his lost brother and how it drove him to abandon his mantle of 'prince' and leave the kingdom. He always remembered how his mother Sonia would kiss his forehead goodnight and tell him to always be good to his little brother.
'…With fleeted-foot as fast as wind, he left his home and claim as king. Gone into the night with a desolate face, was the last we will see of his highness, his grace.' Doctor Barkenstien's voice brought Charles out of his thoughts concerning his late mother and onto the final lines of the poem. 'This poem is very telling Charles. It was conveying more than just the prince's grief. Do you see what I mean?' His former lecturer said with a smile as he turned the poem to Charles.
''With fleeted-foot as fast as wind'..' The mild-blue hedgehog read the beginning of the final lines before his brilliant mind suddenly realised what Doctor Barkenstien was referring to. 'The 'speed gene'? Theodore was gifted with speed..' Charles said with surprise.
'Just like your brother Julius. The 'speed gene' used to dwell in the royal family but it was never recorded again after Theodore disappeared. It was believed that he took it with him.' He flicked through the more recent royals of the Hedgington family.
'Incredible.' The almost twenty-two year old mild-blue hedgehog said. 'When Jules first started showing such fast feet neither of my parents could explain it, there is no record of anyone in our family with the same ability. Perhaps it is plausible that we are descendants of Theodore.' Charles stroked his clean-shaven chin thoughtfully. 'It's too bad my dad isn't alive anymore, as Knothole's last Community Leader he would've known if there were any rumours concerning its history.' He sighed as his pointed ears dipped. There were so many things that Charles wished he had asked his father before he died that he would never get the chance to ask..
'Is there no-one left in Knothole that we could turn to?' Doctor Barkenstien asked curiously and Charles immediately placed his hand to his chin, brushing the underside of his bushy moustache thoughtfully.
'Well, there is one mobian we could try but we'd have to go out to Knothole to speak with him..' The mild-blue hedgehog nodded as if confirming it to himself.
'Wonderful. I would like to take a look at the little hamlet and see if we can date a few of the older buildings. That will give us some indication on how long Knothole has been around.' Doctor Barkenstien replied happily before peeling the markers off of the Green Hill Zone map and rolling it up before picking up the king's book and the census forms. 'But first we will need to make a stop at Mobotroplis University and pick up the relevant equipment.'
It was mid-afternoon by the time Charles Hedgehog and Doctor Barkenstien arrived in Knothole on the hedgehog's green motorbike and sidecar. With Jules staying onsite at Green Woods Military Base Charles' childhood home was completely void of life, something that was a little unnerving to the mild-blue hedgehog the moment he had opened the front door with his own copy of the cabin-key. He realised that it must have felt this strange to his little sibling when he moved out and if Jules could cope with it so could he. It didn't take the two scientists long to set everything up in the dining room and Charles' former home-laboratory and soon the two scientists were outside in the greenery of the tiny hamlet and it's twenty small cabin-buildings.
'So my father married his own cousin?' Charles' voice sounded in an unsure voice but the pale-skinned bridge behind his long black nose wrinkled with slight disgust at marrying a blood relative. He hadn't realised that the small 'c' between his parents' names on their marriage certificate meant that they were cousins before. When he'd done the research on his family history he had only looked up his father's side, not actually tagging that his grandfather's brother Julius was also his mother's father as he had died before he was born.
'Believe it or not Charles, cousin marrying in a small community like this was actually once common practise. You see inter-species marriage has only really been allowed in the last fifteen years, before then it was highly disapproved of. And sometimes when new blood was scarce mobians married inside their family.' The brown-furred mobian-terrier said matter-of-factly before adding in a gentle voice. 'It doesn't mean that your parents didn't love each other. Things were a lot different back in their time, that's all.' The mild-blue hedgehog's pointed-ears were dipped a little as the two of them continued to walk on.
'I understand that Doctor Barkenstien, it's just a lot to process.' Charles replied gently before his ears pricked up a little as they arrived at their destination, the oldest building he knew of in Knothole. 'Here we are, Knothole's Temple. I remember my dad once told me that this is the oldest building in the hamlet.' The twenty-two year old hedgehog rolled up his parents' marriage certificate and smiled at his old lecturer, not wanting to dwell on the specifics of his parents' marriage, they were still his parents regardless of who they had married.
'Well, let's take a sample to see how far back the stonework dates.' Doctor Barkenstien said as he moved to the grey-stone wall of the old temple building. Unlike most of the more modern wooden-cabins of Knothole its temple had been built using stone. The idea being that because this was a religious building it was designed to last longer than the cabins around it.
'Chuck?' A soft-sounding southern female voice drawled out as the mobian-terrier scientist took a scrapping sample of the temple. 'Jist what are yah doin' over theyah?' Charles immediately turned around to find Missy Rabbot stood there kinking a brow confused at him. The newly-pregnant southern-rabbit was holding a wicker-basket of groceries that she had obviously bought at Knothole's community market where the small locals traded their home-grown and home-made wares with each other. Missy often sold her own vegetables at this weekly event.
'Oh. My college Doctor Barkenstien and I were just seeing if we can find out how long Knothole has been around.' The mild-blue hedgehog replied as the older mobian-terrier put his sample piece in a test tube and pulled out a book of architecture that he'd checked out of Mobotroplis Public library. Doctor Barkenstien began to them flick through the pages to see if his theory on the outer design of this building was right.
'Ah see. Well I ain't got much clue when it comes t'science but yah'll both have fun now.' Missy drawled with a faint smile, about to turn away before Charles forestalled her.
'Missy, you wouldn't happen to know if Old Sheldon is home?' The almost twenty-two year old hedgehog asked her curiously, knowing that the female rabbit lived in the cabin next door to him.
'Heh, of course he's home, silly. The ol' coot nevah goes anywhere. I'm goin' 'round his in a minute as he asked me t'git him a jar o' honey from the market if yah wanna come with..' Missy offered helpfully, gesturing towards her own home with her free hand.
'I thought Old Sheldon was supposed to be laying off the sweet foods?' Charles scratched his head in slight confusion, knowing that the old turtle-mobian had diabetes.
'I know, I know..' Missy drawled with a sigh and a slight frown. 'But yah jist try tellin' him that.' She poked the hedgehog in the chest at these words and rolled her soft-brown eyes that suggested she was fed-up arguing with the stubborn old turtle.
'Well Charles..' The brown-terrier mobian closed his book at this point. 'By the exterior of this simple temple I'd say it looks like it was built around a thousand years ago which would put it in the right timeline if my guess is correct..' Doctor Barkenstien was cut off at this moment by Missy as the female rabbit blinked in confusion.
'Yah can tell how old a buildun is jist by ganderin' at it?' Missy kinked a brow in confusion at the archaeological scientist before her.
'Well it's not an exact science to do that but once I can date a sample of the stonework with a few tests that will give us a more accurate answer.' ~Doctor Barkenstien replied to the female rabbit with a smile.
'Missy this is Doctor Barkenstien, he's doing some research on Knothole for King Ogilvie and I'm just here to assist him in his work since I grew up here.' He then turned to the mobian-terrier. 'Doctor, this is Missy Rabbot, a friend and neighbour of my brother's.'
'How'd yah do?' The southern drawling female rabbit grinned brightly at the scientist and shaking his hand.
'It's nice to meet you too.' Doctor Barkenstien responded politely.
'Well, c'mon boys Ah don't want Ol' Sheldon gittin cranky on me.' Missy said lightly and flicked her wrist beckoning the two of them to join her…
…Old Sheldon was just as crotchety as Charles remembered him to be. The old turtle looked the same as ever, like a wrinkled green prune in a turtle-shell as Jules often described him. The mild-blue hedgehog knew that how his little sibling referred to the old mobian was rude but he was unfortunately quite accurate with this description.
'You wanna know about Knothole, huh?' The mobian-turtle sounded as he stroked his long white beard and sucked on a long, thin tobacco pipe. 'Well let me see…' Charles was sat with the old turtle on his wooden patio as Missy poured some cool lemonade for herself and the mobians around her.
'You shouldn't be smoking that Mr Turtle, the health risks to a mobian of your age-'
'Dag-nabbit sonny, if I wanted to hear what I can and can't do I'd go see a doctor!' The old turtle shot back, cutting Charles off before he could finish. 'I'm one-hundred and forty-two if I die tomorrow I don't care, I've lived my life already!'
'Ok. Sorry sir.' Charles raised his hands in instant defeat.
'You're really one-hundred and forty-three?' Doctor Barkenstien asked impressed from his position opposite the old turtle.
'Sure am sonny, been around for three kings and the one census war between Knothole and the Mobian Council.' The wrinkly light-green turtle chuckled at the middle-aged terrier-mobian.
'Of course! The Mobian Council wanted Knothole to declare itself publically at the end of the last century but the residents of Knothole, who were being led by your grandfather Charleston Hedgehog at the time refused.' Doctor Barkenstien said and immediately Old Sheldon seemed to perk up.
'Your darn tootin' we refused! This hamlet was founded under the basis that it was to be a sanctuary and that is how Teddy would've wanted it to stay!' The old turtle declared loudly causing both Charles and Doctor Barkenstien blinked in shock at this new information.
'Teddy Hedgehog?' The mild-blue hedgehog asked in shock.
'Theodore..' Doctor Barkenstien muttered softly to Charles and immediately the mild-blue hedgehog suddenly felt a leap of excitement in his stomach, was this the proof they needed to say that Prince Theodore was his ancestor.
'You knew who founded Knothole? Why didn't you say anything before?' The mild-blue hedgehog asked in surprise.
'It wasn't up to me to tell ya. That was up to Maurice..' Old Sheldon sighed heavily as his mind reminisced on the deceased hedgehog. 'I guess the poor lad just never gotta chance to tell you that story..' The ancient turtle-mobian then shifted himself in his seat and took yet another drag of his tobacco pipe. 'But I guess I should tell you young'uns that story, especially since young Julius is now regarded as Community Leader.'
'Knothole considers my brother its leader now?' Charles blinked in surprise at this news.
'Yuh-huh..' Old Sheldon sounded in agreement. 'There's always been a Hedgehog in charge of Knothole and since you moved away Julius is the last Hedgehog left.' The mild-blue hedgehog sat for a moment as he processed all this new information. He had never considered asking Old Sheldon before when he wanted to know information on his family. There had never been any official records in Mobotroplis but here in Knothole was all the verbal information that he needed.
'Now, not much is known about Teddy Hedgehog himself but from what my grandpappie told me the story goes…'
It was late the following morning and sun was streaming in through the huge arched windows of the throne room as King Ogilvie the Third returned from his morning constitutional to find Warlord Kodos and General D'Coolette waiting for him in the throne room with grim faces. Sensing the severity of the situation the green-quilled hedgehog was stood in front of his throne ready to listen to what he feared he already knew...
'Intelligence reports that the Overlanders are on the move sire..' Warlord Kodos sounded seriously as he stood in front of the King of Mobius. Beside the seven-foot mobian-lion was General D'Coolette who was acting as an advisor to the king in the absence of Commander St John who was still out chasing after the wizard Naugus. King Ogilvie the Third's expression was set with a stern frown as he looked from his general to his warlord.
'How long do we have until they make of contact?' The green-quilled royal hedgehog sounded seriously, wondering if he was going to have to contact Captain Fletcher and have him rendezvous with Commander St John to double his daughter's protection.
'If we ready the mobians we can send our frontline inventories out to head them off at the neck of Green Hill Valley in a few days.' Immediately General D'Coolette pressed the button on the holographic map of the Green Hill Zone and outlined the initial plan for their king's approval.
'In a few days?' King Ogilvie queried curiously and immediately General D'Coolette replied.
'Wee mon majeste, we must be giving ze mobians time to be writing zere weells and be saying au revoir to zere familees..' The light-tanned mobian-coyote said solemnly. 'Ze situation tres grave..'
'Ah yes, I understand, of course. This is highly dangerous and many of them may not make it back.' The green-quilled hedgehog said nodding gravely before turning back to Warlord Kodos. 'Very well Kodos, you have my permission to lead the troops into battle.'
'Excellent sire, I shall inform the mobians right away..' The seven-foot lion-mobian said complete with a low bow before turning at leaving to throne room with a grin on his face. 'And it begins..' He murmured to himself as he left.
'So tell me Armand, how is Marie doing?' King Ogilvie sounded conversationally to his oldest friend.
'She is doing quite well. Doctor Quack is theenking zat mon garcon will be arriving in any day.' General D'Coolette replied with a bright smile.
'Your son?' King Ogilvie responded with a kink of his brow. 'Isn't that a tad presumptuous old friend?'
'Perhaps un peu mon ami..' General D'Coolette said in agreement. 'But I am very much wanting un garcon.' He added with a smile.
'Yes but girls are not so bad either Armand..' King Ogilvie replied lightly as he wrapped an arm around the light-tan-furred mobian, thinking about how he wouldn't change his daughter for the world.
Lieutenant Buchanan Rabbot sighed the moment he appeared out of his meeting with Colonel Somersby, General D'Coolette and the rest of the squad unit lieutenants that were assigned to frontline inventory. While the rest of the unit were inside their designated billet playing darts and listening to the radio while laughing amongst themselves, Sargent Jules Hedgehog was waiting for his light-brown-furred commanding officer and friend. The cobalt-blue hedgehog had been strumming lazily on his acoustic guitar and gazing at the stars. When his hazel eyes caught movement just outside his peripheral vision he stopped strumming and smiled widely as the weary southern rabbit appeared by him.
''Bout time bud.. So what's the word from the general?' Jules asked lightly before his smile suddenly vanished as Buchanan Rabbot merely groaned in response and slumped down onto the steps leading up to the billet door.
'Not good Juice..' The southern rabbit-mobian then went into great detail of everything that had transpired in the meeting that had just taken place. For a long moment the cobalt-blue hedgehog stared at his lieutenant before leaning his guitar against the wooden balcony of the billet.
'So we're really going to war?' The eighteen year old hedgehog said slowly as he lowered himself onto the step next to the light-brown rabbit.
'Yup. Are the boys ready to go out on the field?' Buchanan said throwing his close friend a concerned glance.
'Ready as they'll ever be Buck.' Jules said seriously before shaking his head. 'I guess we all knew this day was coming. I'll go inform the guys but this really is gonna put a dampener on their night.' The cobalt-blue hedgehog then pulled himself up from his seat beside Buchanan and moved to the billet door. He glanced back to see that Buchanan had pulled out a hip-flask of smuggled-in bourbon and was swigging it while gazing up at the stars wistfully, no doubt thinking about his wife and barely-developed kiton.
The moment the cobalt-blue hedgehog entered the billet he could see Red Fox and Arthur Mongoose taking turns with the dart-set that was pinned to the wall. Chips was sat by their communications officer Private Coffee Rabbit otherwise known simply as 'Fee' to the guys in the unit, the two of them were playing a game of cards with the rest of the unit near the radio which was playing a very familiar tune:
'I ain't denyin' these accusations, cause now all of Mobius know…
That nobody could ever do it like Bernadette..
Hey Bernadette! I think they may be on to me…'
'Hey Sarge..' Red called out as he spotted their commanding officer and grinned. '-is it true that you wrote this song? Lieutenant Stripes from unit beta over in billet three says you did.' Jules rolled his eyes at this question as the rest of the unit looked around curiously at him.
'Yeh, that's what I heard too, sir.' Coffee sounded as he picked up a card before replacing it with another as his brown eyes stayed on his Sargent.
'Guys that question is irrelevant right now. Fee turn that off..' Jules added seriously and immediately the pale-furred rabbit with the coffee-brown smudges on his fur leant over and clicked off the radio. 'We have orders from above and we're going onto the field.' There was a collective gasp from the group as they all knew what this meant.
'They're sending us to war?' Arthur sounded wanting to verbally confirm this news.
'That's right. Apparently the Overlanders are only a few clicks away from the gorges of the badlands and we're being sent in to head them off before they reach Green Hill Valley. So tomorrow we will be finalizing our wills and getting off base in the afternoon to say goodbye to our loved ones before heading out to make camp at the neck of Green Hill Valley. So enjoy your last free night guys. Now if you'll excuse me I'm just going to sit outside with the lieutenant, he's feeling pretty low.' The hedgehog then left the billet, leaving his unit to their thoughts..
Little Notes:
Hey guys, hope you like this chapter I stayed up a little later than usual just to get this chapter ready. This title is a reflection of both King Ogilvie the Third and Prince Theodore, both of whom are important factors in this chapter…
Ok I really wanted to clear up the whole history of Knothole and the hints that I'd left about the ancestry of Charles and Jules. I know there will be a lot of you going 'cousin-marrying is so gross, why would you write about that' but I really hope that I have given a compelling argument in this chapter that makes it sound believable that such a thing could happen, you must remember that animals take a different view on husbandry so it should make sense that mobians do to. Knothole is such a small secluded community. It may only take Jules twenty minutes to get to Mobotroplis but you have to remember that he moves at over 200 miles an hour. For others with less speed it would take longer..
…Next chapter will feature the first encounter with the Overlanders and will probably cover a vast time gap. Also there will be the birth of the first future freedom fighter, no prizes for guessing who!
See you soon!
~Ditzy x